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Harris thanked Irish women who have shared their personal experiences of crisis pregnancies, acknowledging the pain behind their stories:

‘We are voting on May 25 because we have let you down for too long.’

Professor Mary Higgins, Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist from the National Maternity Hospital, spoke honestly of the unenviable position doctors find themselves in as they try to navigate the 8th Amendment which restrict how much they can care for their patients:

The most I can do as a doctor when my patients are travelling is send a text that says you’re thinking about them. It’s pathetic, and you wonder if you are breaking the law.

Last night, #WhoNeedsYourYes was trending on Twitter, as many shared their personal stories and reasons for voting to yes to repealing the 8th.

Here’s 12 of the most heartbreaking and compassionate tweets about who needs you to vote yes.

1. Dr Murphy, a therapist, needs it for his patients

My yes is for all the women who I have seen in therapy (not related to abortions) but were; - shamed by judgement of the un-compassionate - retraumatised by graphic images - who nearly died in childbirth as their clinicians were hindered by legislation. #WhoNeedsYourYes

3. Annie’s ‘yes’ is for her daughter and those who find themselves in an unimaginable reality

My yes is for Aishling, my daughter, my teacher. I never imagined I would have a baby with no chance at life. I never knew how many of us out there live with this grief. We all deserve support & compassion. #WhoNeedsYourYespic.twitter.com/W6nCsxSN1x

4. Ciara needs a yes for the memory of her being alone in England

I needed your yes. When I was 21, terrified, alone, broken by the fear. When I was bleeding on a plane, and in a dirty B&B. When I was in pain, sick with anxiety in a strange hospital with strange doctors in a strange country. #whoneedsyouryes

5. Mel needs a yes for her cancer survivor daughter

#WhoNeedsYourYes My yes is for my 16-yr-old daughter @5_niamh who is too young to vote. She has survived Stage 4 cancer, end stage heart failure and a heart transplant. With the 8th in place, she might not survive a pregnancy but her doctors' hands would be tied. #repealthe8th

7. Karen’s yes is for women like her who have suffered from Post Natal Depression

My last pregnancy seriously damaged both my physical and mental health. I had PND, I had a goodbye text typed out and pills in my hand to take my own life. A neighbour knocked and interrupted me. I don't want to be pregnant again. I won't risk it. #WhoNeedsYourYes#BeMyYes

8. Amanda Mellet’s is in memory of her daughter, Aoife

#whoneedsyouryes my yes is in memory of my first daughter Aoife, who I lost to an FFA , and for my second daughter Ella , that she may grow up in an Ireland where the ill treatment of women is a historical, not a current event #tfmr#StopPunishingTragedy

In 2011 Mellet was told her 21 week old foetus, a girl, had congenital defects meaning that she would die in the womb or shortly after. Mellet could only stay in the UK 12 hours in total for her treatment as it was all she could afford.

In June 2016, the UN’s Human Rights Commission ruled that Ireland had subjected Mellet to “discrimination and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” because of the 8th Amendment. Mellet was offered €30,000 by the Irish government.

9. Sinead is doing it for every pregnancy that wasn’t a source of joy

My yes is for every pregnant person whose pregnancy was not a source of joy, but one of pain and grief, through illness, rape, economic means, violence, bad timing, lack of documentation, foetal abnormality & health reasons. Trust and listen to us. #Repealthe8th#WhoNeedsYourYes

10. Julia is voting for women like her mother who have been affected by the 8th Amendment but cannot vote

11. James’ yes is so we start looking after our own citizens, instead of exporting them to the UK

My yes is for Irish women, because they are Irish. I don’t want the British to be responsible for providing care to Irish citizens, because if we can’t do that for ourselves, then what is Ireland? #WhoNeedsYourYes

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